2024 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ti on 2040-cars

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Alfa Romeo prioritizing vehicle quality and customer satisfaction

Stellantis honcho Carlos Tavares has proved himself adroit at the turnaround. GM had lost money on its European Opel/Vauxhall unit for two decades before Tavares took the helm at Peugeot-Citroen (PSA) and bought GM's European arm. Tavares restored Opel/Vauxhall to profit in a year. Within 18 months of PSA's "merger" with Fiat-Chrysler being official, we're no longer hearing doomsday stories from some of the perpetually troubled marques under the new umbrella. All of the Italians — Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Fiat, Lancia, Maserati — say they're doing well, Alfa Romeo back in the black and planning a range that will be more accessible and more fun to own. Having established Tavares' mastery of the basics, we've yet to find out if he knows how to transform a brand, which is what all of the Italian automakers need. At Alfa Romeo, the North American heads told Automotive News that they're still establishing the foundations of a revolution. In doing so, the brand sounds more like the kind of premium automaker it's been aspiring to be since its return in 2008.  Vincent Noirbent, VP of Brand and Product Planning for Alfa Romeo on this continent, said the automaker's working a 10-year plan to place itself as Stellantis' global premium brand below Maserati's all-out luxury. We don't know how that's going to work with Lancia in Europe, but we don't get Lancia, so that potential clash is out of our jurisdiction. Autonews phrased Noirbent's message as, "Customer satisfaction and vehicle quality are arguably 'more important' to the brand than sales as it works to build momentum in the U.S." He also said it's more important to build a "sound business" built around the strengths of the brand and that doesn't rely on incentives. A Miami dealer described comments from Alfa Romeo North America boss Larry Dominque as wanting to "make the cars right first, make the [ownership] experience better, and build the value of the brand so somebody will pay an extra $100 a month." In an interview from Pebble Beach, Dominique said a luxury service experience and experiential marketing will also be involved. This will include "concierge services, pick-up and drop-off service for test drives," and when visiting a dealer, "it's the kind of thing where not only could you come in to see beautiful cars, but also do Italian cooking lessons and wine tastings." All the work will take time.

2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale First Drive: An electrifying Italian alternative

MILAN, Italy – Chicken or egg? ItÂ’s often a matter of perspective. In this case, the 2023 Dodge Hornet is based on the 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale – itÂ’s even built in Italy – yet it was the Dodge that arrived first on American shores. By the narrowest of margins, true, but it happened nevertheless. That leaves the Tonale (pronounced "toe-nal-ay," not "toe-nail") to carve out a premium niche for itself above the buzzy Italian-American.   How? For starters, the Tonale is exclusively available as a plug-in hybrid in the United States. Only Canada and Mexico will get the lower-output, gasoline-only variant. Producing 285 horsepower and 347 pound-feet of torque combined, the plug-in powertrain consists of a 1.3-liter turbocharged four-banger and six-speed automatic transmission up front and a 121-horsepower electric motor on the rear axle. ThereÂ’s no physical connection between them, so power from the gas engine canÂ’t be sent rearward or vice versa. That means the Tonale is effectively rear-wheel drive when in electric-only mode. It can run like that for more than 30 miles if the 15.5-kilowatt-hour battery is fully charged, which requires about 2.5 hours on a level 2 setup. Provided you donÂ’t ask more of the powertrain than the battery and motor are able to deliver, it will putter along in combustion-free silence. Mashing the throttle will engage the gas engine no matter what hybrid mode youÂ’re in; more on those below. The standard Tonale is equipped with a MacPherson strut suspension with Frequency Selective Damping (FSD) shocks. They may sound like fancy electronic dampers but FSD shocks do their magic without any digital intervention. While not as sharp as performance-tuned shocks, nor as comfortable as those engineered to deliver the best ride, they offer a solid balance that is much less costly or complex than the adaptive setup that comes standard on the range-topping Veloce model. The VeloceÂ’s adaptive suspension is incorporated into Alfa's "DNA" drive mode selection system, tightening up in “Dynamic” and backing off in “Natural” and “Advanced Efficiency.” The TonaleÂ’s other sporty add-ons — aluminum steering column-mounted paddle shifters, aluminum pedals and red Brembo calipers with white Alfa Romeo script — are part of the “High Performance Driving Package,” which is optional on the mid-range Sprint and baked into the Veloce. The hybrid modes mentioned earlier exist outside the D-N-A dial.

Alfa Romeo teases 'a new era' with Tonale taillights

The Italians from Turin opened their Facebook page to put the world on alert that "a new era begins with Alfa Romeo," and they did so using Alfa Romeo Tonale taillights. The leading guess as to what this might portend is a battery-electric Tonale. Such a vehicle is possible, but there are questions. Brand product chief Daniel Guzzafame admitted it was "technically possible," and we're expecting an EV from Alfa next year; however, that's meant to be the Italian version of the Jeep Avenger EV sold in Europe. FCA Italy runs the Facebook page in question, and the page contains plenty of Europe-specific content, so perhaps this teaser isn't meant for us in the U.S. Or perhaps the new EV gets Tonale taillights. Or perhaps some market will see a Tonale EV soon.  Another guess is that engineers have created an enhanced Tonale variant to put the Dodge Hornet in the dust. Alfa Romeo was said to be less than pleased about Dodge borrowing the Tonale and launching its Hornet first, then showing a Hornet GLH (Go Like Hell) concept with more than 300 horsepower compared to the Tonale PHEV's 285 hp. So what if there's a Quadrifoglio PHEV headed to market, marking the first time the go-fast division would have put four leaves on a hybrid powertrain? CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato said that after the Tonale launch, "we have one big product event every year for five years." This year was the 33 Stradale, next year comes something, and in 2025, "a full EV super-performing car." After that, every Alfa Romeo will be battery-electric, and Quadrifoglio trims make the jump. Imparato said there'd only be a Quadrifoglio variant of the current version if engineers could unlock "the highest level of performance." A four-leafed Tonale could break the seal on the future of performance Alfas, and be among the department's last ICE-powered hurrahs. All shots in the dark, though. Now that the tease campaign has begun, the next clue won't be far away.